Eric the Half-A-Bee is a song by the British comedy troupe Monty Python. It first appeared on the LP Monty Python's Previous Record but is also on Monty Python Sings and The Final Rip Off 2-CD set. The song followed the routine called Fish Licence in which Mr Eric Praline, played by John Cleese, tried to obtain a pet licence for a halibut and numerous other pets, all called Eric. One such pet is half a bee. The song relates a tragic yet heartwarming tale, stemming from an accident on one summer's afternoon. Monty Python, or The Pythons, is the collective name of the creators of Monty Python’s Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. ... Monty Pythons Previous Record was the third album by Monty Python, released in 1972. ... Monty Python Sings was a comedy album of songs written by the Monty Python team. ... The Fish Licence is part one of a two-part segment of the popular British television series, Monty Pythons Flying Circus, in it Eric Praline, played by John Cleese, takes on the roll of the put-upon custumer who, when seeking to obtain a licence for his pet halibut... Mr. ... John Marwood Cleese (born 27 October 1939) is an English comedian and actor best known for being one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python and for co-writing the TV series Fawlty Towers in which he played Basil Fawlty. ... Fiorello LaGuardia with a 300-pound halibut at the Fulton Fish Market. ... Families Andrenidae Apidae Colletidae Halictidae Megachilidae Melittidae Stenotritidae Bee collecting pollen Bees are flying insects, closely related to wasps and ants. ...

The lyrics raise important philosophical questions as to the existence or not of half a bee: "Half a bee, philosophically, must ipso facto half not be. But half the bee has got to be vis-à-vis his entity - d'you see? But can a bee be said to be or not to be an entire bee when half the bee is not a bee due to some ancient injury?" Philosophy (from the Greek words philos and sophia meaning love of wisdom) is understood in different ways historically and by different philosophers. ... Families Andrenidae Apidae Colletidae Halictidae Megachilidae Melittidae Stenotritidae Bee collecting pollen Bees are flying insects, closely related to wasps and ants. ...

This sketch is also one of John Cleese's personal favourites that he has done.